controversies
It seems every time one racially-charged incident ends, a gender or religious controversy takes its place; Ruminate on the issues dividing our nation and world.
White fragility
Over the past week, I have been closely looking at my community and the inherent offence that comes with it. Why are people in my community so desperate to prove that they were not a racist before this? Why are they so desperate to prove that they aren't one now? What do they do past posting inspirational quotes? Social media is practically buzzing with defensiveness, faces behind computer screens getting redder and redder, desperate to rid themselves of any guilt by sharing countless slogans, participating in #blackouttuesday, and weeping for the black community.
Billie GoldPublished 4 years ago in The SwampExisting Shouldn't Be A Crime
The country is on fire. Literally, and figuratively; because the people with the privilege think of Black people as unworthy of care and life.
Andrea CrymesPublished 4 years ago in The SwampRacism at Sixteen
When I was seventeen, I got a job as a lifeguard on route ten, at an indoor amusement park and outdoor waterpark. It was beautiful, all brand new, and it was way larger of an operation then I had ever been apart of with at least a hundred workers on just the outdoor area. It’s important to say that it was on route ten, because route ten is the only place in our town where the bus comes. It’s a major highway, with places like AMC, Chilies, and many others, and people from poor neighborhoods and cities take this bus, and many of them work at places one can walk too, on route ten.
kaleigh nyePublished 4 years ago in The SwampUnknown agony
So before we get into the heart of today’s article there are a few terms I want everybody to understand and see. They will be essential to understanding what this article is about
Richie MoonPublished 4 years ago in The SwampCan I Live?
Yes, everyday black people breathe differently than others. Because breathing differently means knowing and acknowledging we don’t have the same experiences as others on a day to day basis. We walk around with 10 ears and 20 pairs of eyes. I as a black woman can only say and say what I see from my perspective. My perspective of what I see wreaks of racism behind these brown eyes, curly, and coarse hair. And it hurts some of the stories my mother tells me.
Evelyn WatkinsPublished 4 years ago in The SwampLife Is Not Black and White
Right now there is a huge controversy happening. I am not going to speak directly on the current state of our country regarding the incident of tragic violence that occurred. I am not going to examine or analyze the facts to determine if what is happening is right or wrong. I do however, want to bring my own perspective to the issue at hand. Right now the world is more divided than it has been in a long time. Everyone is feeling the pressure to chose a side. Either you are with black people or you are with white people. Either you are defending black people or you are part of the problem. I would argue that this kind of thinking is how we got here in the first place. The truth is nothing in life is that simple. There is a complex culture that exists and subcultures that exist due to racial segregation. I speak from experience when I say racism is as alive in the black community as it is in the white community. I am a mixed race person with a black/native father and a white mother. I witnessed first hand my family being torn apart due to the color of my parent's skin. I experienced being cast aside as a family member because of being part white or part black. I have been rejected by the black community for being too white. I have been rejected by the white community for being too black. I have had to go through periods of life where I passed for white in order to avoid racism and I have experienced times when I did not pass and was directly discriminated against due to my being part black in the south. The issue is not black and white. The issues exist on a spectrum of anger, hatred and pain. Black people are not the only ones suffering in our current system. This revolution is not about black and white. We need to keep in mind all the minority groups who have helped to pave the way for this current climactic scene. Women, Indigenous People, LGBTQ to name just a few that have helped us get to this moment today. This revolution is not about being black. It is about being human. There are certinly issues that pertain to the black community that need to be addressed. Are we ready? Anytime you destroy something it should be with an effective plan to heal. The cycle of life demands that when we put something to death we must labor to birth new life to fill that void. If we truly want this revolution to succeed we need to start focusing now on how we are going to heal our communities. Focused attention needs to be brought to how we are going to have meaningful, productive, reason focused discussions on how we can truly level the playing field. Damage has been done for generatons as we have witnessed the demise of our people over and over again. This is not something you repair by handing out privilage. Apologies and nice words will not cut it. Holding a sign and chanting will not fix our broken homes, failing school systems and tired spirits. There is also another issue that no one really wants to address. The black community needs to be honest among itself about the many ways we have become unhealthy towards one another and our fellow man in the midst of our suffering. There are generations of rage and pain coursing through our veins. What are we going to do with that. How are we going to lift one another up out of the pit we have been thrown in. We can rise victoriously our of it but it is going to take work from us and the support of our allies. Picking eachother apart like angry vultures will not fix this. Pointing the finger at entire people groups will not fix this. It is time for all minorities to come together with our allies and stand together to create lasting change. After all life is not black and white. There are so many beautiful shades of every kind of color in between. As a mixed race person I had to learn about all the colors that exist in the world so I could find my place. There was no solace in black or white. I have blended in with multiple ethnicities and people groups soaking up the culture and knowledge. If you can take off the blinders and remove the segregating construct that was programmed into your mind you can enjoy all the beautiful colors too. This goes beyond skin tone, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, economic class and education. This is about getting in touch with humanity at its base. At the end of the day we are all one. We are all human.
Stephanie KeeseePublished 4 years ago in The SwampStand Up
I do not know how to start this article... I have so many things on my mind about this topic and I just cannot fathom the thought of everything that is happening. It is not something that is just happening now, it has been happening for a long time. What is the difference?... Well, social media. Thanks to social media we are now aware of what is going on around us, good or bad, this does not mean that the thing we are seeing now just started happening. The difference is that we can see it now.
Must Love DogsPublished 4 years ago in The SwampBlack Lives Still Matter
When will it ever end? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself. The “it” I’m referring to is police brutality and racial injustice. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day and the manner of how he died broke my heart. The video of a police officer pinning Floyd on the ground, using his knee and pressing the back of his neck for several minutes, pleading that he couldn’t breathe, was disturbing. It was heartbreaking to watch and was in tears.
Mark Wesley PritchardPublished 4 years ago in The Swamp- Top Story - June 2020
The Officer Who Cried "Resisting"
Sixty years following the heinous torture and murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, news broke in 2017 that Carolyn Bryant, the white woman who initially accused him of making advances at her, fabricated "the most sensational part of her testimony." The statement claiming he grabbed her waist and made verbal advances at her was "not true" according to Carolyn herself in an interview with historian Timothy Tyson.
Ghezal AmiriPublished 4 years ago in The Swamp Outrage has no Colour
Last week, my Father told me the story of a black man in America who was arrested for allegedly using counterfeit notes to pay for goods. I was then told that a white Police Officer wrestled the compliant black citizen to the ground without cause, and proceeded to kneel on his neck. "What?!" I said in horror and confusion, "what?!"
Rachel LightfootPublished 4 years ago in The SwampStand Together
Word usually come easily to me. But the murder of George Floyd and the dozens of innocent black Americans...I just...for the first time in my life I truly don't know what to write to express my anger, bitterness, and heartbreak that I doubt time will ever mend.
The Failures of the World Health Organization and China to stop Coronavirus Pandemic
The World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and praised his government for containing Coronavirus outbreak in China despite the fact that Coronavirus was quietly spreading in China during the early stages of its breakout. In a tweet WHO said “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus.” Chinese authorities received credible information in Wuhan China in December suggesting that Coronavirus could be passed on through human to human transmission, but they failed to act on such information at that stage.
Paul OranikaPublished 4 years ago in The Swamp